North Staffordshire Regiment
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- For other regiments numbered 98th, see 98th Regiment of Foot (disambiguation)
| The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) (64th and 98th) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1881-1959 |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Type | Infantry of the Line |
| Part of | Mercian Brigade (1948-59) |
| Garrison/HQ | Lichfield |
| Colors | maroon, black and silver |
| Anniversaries | Ypres, October 19 |
The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881, but with antecedents dating from 1756. In 1959 the regiment was amlagamated with the South Staffordshire Regiment to form the Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's).
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[edit] Formation and antecedents
The regiment was formed as the The Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment) as part of the Childers Reforms on July 1, 1881 by the amalgamation of the 64th and 98th regiments of foot, which became the regular 1st and 2nd Battalions of the regiment. Militia and Rifle Volunteers of North Staffordshire were also incorporated in the new regiment. The battalions formed in 1881 were as follows:
- 1st Battalion: the 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot, raised in 1756 as the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Foot, and renumbered as the 64th in 1758. In 1782 county designations were given to regiments of foot, with the 64th becoming the 2nd Staffordshire.
- 2nd Battalion: the 98th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of Foot, raised in 1824. It received the subsidiary title Prince of Wales's in 1876.
- 3rd (Militia) Battalion: The King's Own (2nd Staffordshire) Light Infantry Militia
- 4th (Militia) Battalion: The King's Own (3rd Staffordshire) Rifles Militia
- 1st Volunteer Battalion: 2nd Staffordshire (Staffordshire Rangers) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 2nd Volunteer Battalion: 5th Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
The reserve battalions of the regiment were reorganised in 1908 by the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, with the two militia battalions becoming as the 3rd and 4th (Special Reserve) Battalions and the volunteer battalions transferring to the Territorial Force as the 5th and 6th Battalions (TF).
[edit] 1881 - 1914
The 1st Battalion (the former 64th) was in Ireland at the time of the amalgamation. They moved to England in 1883, and the following year to the West Indies, based at Barbados, with detachments on different islands. They moved to Natal in 1887, to Mauritius in 1890, to Malta in 1893 and to Egypt in 1895. From there the 1st Battalion took part in operations in The Sudan under Lord Kitchener, receiving the battle honour '"Hafir"'. The battalion was subsequently stationed in India from 1897 until 1903, returning to England for nine years, before moving to Ireland in 1912.
The 2nd Battalion (the former 98th) was stationed in India in 1881, and remained there until 1886, taking part in an expedition to the Zhob Valley in 1884. In 1886 they returned to England via Aden, and then to Ireland in 1893. In 1899 they moved to South Africa, taking part in the Second Boer War until 1902, when they returned to England. In the following year the 2nd Battalion again returned to India, remaining there until 1919.[1]
[edit] First World War 1914 - 1918
The regiment was greatly expanded for the duration of the war, with 17 battalions serving on the Western Front, the Dardanelles, Middle East, Persia and India. Ten representative battle honours were chosen for display on the regiment's colours:[2]
- Armentieres, 1914
- Somme 1916, '18
- Arras, 1917
- Messines, 1917, '18
- Ypres, 1917, '18
- St. Quentin Canal
- Selle
- Sari Bair
- Kut al Amara
- North-West Frontier, India, 1915
[edit] 1918 - 1939
The 1st Battalion was posted to The Curragh, Ireland after the armistice, becoming involved in the Irish War of Independence until 1922, when it moved to Gibraltar. In the following year the battalion was moved to Thrace, where they played a peace keeping role in the conflict between Greek and Turkish forces. Later in 1923 the battalion moved to India, where they remained until 1947.
The 2nd Battalion was stationed in India when Afghan forces crossed the border and occupied some Indian territory. The battalion took part in the retaliatory British and Indian invasion of Afghanistan, leading to the North Staffords receiving the battle honour Afghanistan, 1919. The 2nd North Staffords returned to England via Egypt in 1921, and were quickly redeployed to Ireland. On the establishment of the Irish Free State, the battalion returned to the regimental depot at Lichfield. They spent the period until 1939 in "home stations". Apart from England this included service in Gibraltar from 1930 to 1932 and a year in Palestine in 1936/7.
The 3rd and 4th (Special Reserve) Battalions were placed in "suspended animation" in 1921, eventually being disbanded in 1953. The Territorial Force was reconstituted as the Territorial Army in 1920, and the 5th and 6th Battalions were reformed. In 1936 the 5th Battalion was converted to an anti-aircraft unit of the Royal Engineers. In 1939 the size of the Territorial Army was doubled, and the remaining 6th Battalion formed a duplicate 7th Battalion.
In 1921 the regimental title was altered to The North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's).[3] In 1937 the black facings formerly worn by the 64th Foot were restored, replacing the white colour that had been imposed on all non-royal English regiments in 1881.
[edit] Second World War 1939 - 1945
The regiment was expanded during the war, with the two regular and two territorial battalions being supplemented by the creation of 8th and 9th Battalions. Battalions served in North West Europe, North Africa, Italy and Burma. The regiment selected the following ten representative battle honours to appear on the colours:
- Dyle
- Ypres-Comines Canal
- Caen
- Brieux Bridgehead
- Medjez Plain
- North Africa, 1943
- Anzio
- Rome
- Marradi
- Burma, 1943
[edit] 1945 - 1959
Following the granting of independence of India in 1947, all infantry regiments in the British Army were reduced to a single regular battalion. Accordingly the 1st Battalion left India to take part in a ceremony officially amalgamating with the 2nd Battalion in Egypt in 1949. The new 1st Battalion (64th/98th) remained in Egypt until 1950, when it returned to the depot in Staffordshire. A year later the battalion was posted to the disputed port city of Trieste. In 1953 the battalion was transferred to Korea, where the Korean War had just come to an end. In 1954 they moved to Hong Kong, where the regiment's 200th anniversary was celebrated in 1956.
In July, 1957, a defence review was announced. The North Staffords were to amalgamate with The South Staffordshire Regiment, and to become part of the new administrative Mercian Brigade.
The amalgamation of the 1st Battalions of the two regiments took place on January 31, 1959 at Minden, Germany, to form the 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own).
The 6th Battalion continued as a territorial unit of the new regiment without change of title. In 1961 it merged with the 441 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, (the successor to the 5th North Staffords) to become the 5th/6th Battalion. The battalion was abolished in 1967 on the creation of the Territorial Army and Volunteer Reserve in 1967.
